It was four years ago that the Washington State Legislature enacted the 2003 gas tax increase (the Nickel program). The revenue package funded 158 projects over a 10-year period. In 2005, the Legislature enacted the Transportation Partnership gas tax increase (TPA) to fund 274 projects across the state over the next 16 years. That's 432 projects worth more than $10.5 billion.

So how are we doing? As of March 2007, WSDOT has completed 79 projects - 62 Nickel and 17 TPA. WSDOT delivered those projects for $638.7 million, within .3 percent of the $636 million estimated budget.

By the end of June, WSDOT will complete another 10 projects - five each from the Nickel and TPA lists. Those projects also are expected to land within budget.

Clearly there are many more years of project delivery before the final chapter is written on how successful we have been. But four years into the story, our clear focus on project delivery is showing results to be proud of.